Deck 15: The Judiciary

Question 1

The compilation of all the laws passed by the U.S. Congress is known as

A) the Federal Register.
B) United States Reports.
C) constitutional law.
D) the U.S. Code.
E) the U.S. common law.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Initially, the federal judiciary was

A) very strong, with significant authority.
B) quite strong, with moderate authority.
C) quite weak, with little authority.
D) very weak, with almost no authority.
E) dependent on the states for its existence.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements about constitutional law is accurate?

A) Constitutional law is binding only on the actions of the federal government.
B) The law of state constitutions is supreme, but the U.S. Constitution is next.
C) Constitutional law arises from federal statutes.
D) All laws in the United States must comply with the U.S. Constitution.
E) All these answers are correct.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The landmark case Cruzan v. Missouri Department of Health established which of the following individual rights?

A) the right to discontinue food and hydration without government interference
B) the right to end life support without government interference
C) the right to deny resuscitation without government interference
D) the right to deny blood and plasma transfusions without government interference
E) the right to cite religion as justification for refusal of treatment without government interference

Question 5

In the process of administrative rule making, which of the following uses their discretion to establish rules and regulations to implement policy?

A) federal bureaucrats
B) the Supreme Court
C) federal appeals courts
D) state high courts
E) the Supreme Court and state high courts

Question 6

Which of the following statements about executive orders is accurate?

A) Executive orders do not have the force of law.
B) Executive orders are a type of presidential lawmaking.
C) Legislative input is necessary for executive order enactment.
D) Presidents rarely issue executive orders.
E) Executive orders are not subject to judicial review.

Question 7

The principle of stare decisis, a Latin phrase that means "let the decision stand", is the basis of the modern legal concept of

A) jury trials.
B) precedent.
C) code law.
D) judicial statute.
E) the primacy of common law.

Question 8

Who files suit in a case dealing with a violation of criminal law?

A) the victim
B) any concerned citizen
C) the plaintiff
D) the government
E) the accuser

Question 9

The authority of the Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of governmental action is known as

A) jurisdiction.
B) judicial review.
C) precedent.
D) common law.
E) stare decisis

Question 10

Which early landmark case granted the Supreme Court its most significant power?

A) Marbury v. Madison
B) Dred Scott v. Sanford
C) Lochner v. Ellison
D) McCulloch v. Maryland
E) Bowers v. Hardwick

Question 11

Statutes are authored by

A) Congress.
B) legislatures.
C) the president.
D) the Supreme Court.
E) Congress and other legislatures.

Question 12

Which of the following are considered the highest form of law?

A) statutes
B) judicial decisions
C) executive orders
D) administrative and regulatory laws
E) constitutions

Question 13

The Judiciary Act of 1789 did which of the following?

A) gave the district courts exclusive appellate jurisdiction
B) created circuit courts with geographic jurisdictions that matched state boundaries
C) created four regional federal courts
D) gave Congress the power to organize the federal court system
E) created a federal court system with three tiers

Question 14

Which of the following statements about administrative rule making is NOT accurate?

A) It is a quasi-legislative process.
B) The rules that result from administrative rule making have the force of law.
C) Administrative rules can be put into effect upon legislative approval.
D) Administrative rule making gives bureaucrats discretion to establish the necessary rules and regulations to implement policy.
E) It fleshes out the broad principles of statutory law.

Question 15

Today, there are ________ courts of appeals with appellate jurisdiction over designated geographical regions.

A) 6
B) 9
C) 12
D) 14
E) 15

Question 16

Which of the following issues serves as the basis for most common civil lawsuits?

A) the family
B) contractual matters
C) commercial disputes
D) medical malpractice
E) traffic accidents

Question 17

The common law is based on which of the following?

A) legislation
B) statute
C) earlier court decisions
D) previous decisions of British Parliament
E) administrative rulings

Question 18

The Supreme Court predominately acts as a court of

A) original jurisdiction.
B) dual jurisdiction.
C) supreme jurisdiction.
D) appellate jurisdiction.
E) mandamus jurisdiction.

Question 19

What is the hallmark of any code-law system?

A) judicial decisions
B) Supreme Court jurisprudence
C) statutory lawmaking
D) administrative decision making
E) executive orders

Question 20

According to the compromise reached by the framers of the Constitution, which of the following was empowered to establish federal district courts?

A) the president
B) the Supreme Court
C) Congress
D) the Department of Justice
E) the Attorney General of the United States

Question 21

The term symbolic representation refers to which of the following in the selection of federal judges?

A) judicial qualifications of the candidate
B) the candidate's ideological views
C) the demographic represented by the candidate
D) opinions of constituents regarding the candidate
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 22

Senatorial courtesy gives senators of the same political party as the president the right to veto judicial appointments to which of the following courts?

A) state high courts
B) federal district courts
C) state courts of appeals
D) federal circuit courts of appeals
E) the Supreme Court

Question 23

The leading justice on the Supreme Court, who provides both organizational and intellectual leadership, is known as the

A) chief justice.
B) associate justice.
C) official justice.
D) advisory justice
E) head justice.

Question 24

Which of the following are considered courts of last resort, whose opinions carry the force of law?

A) federal district courts
B) supreme courts
C) federal appeals courts
D) state high courts
E) the Supreme Court and state high courts

Question 25

Which of the following Supreme Court appointees were nominated by President Obama?

A) Sonia Sotomayor and Samuel Alito
B) Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor
C) John Roberts and Samuel Alito
D) John Roberts and Elena Kagan
E) John Paul Stevens and David Souter

Question 26

What type of court system exists in the United States?

A) single court system
B) dual court system
C) triple court system
D) quadruple court system
E) multiple court system

Question 27

The U.S. circuit courts of appeals

A) hold trials to determine the evidence.
B) review the legal procedures of a preceding case.
C) are courts of discretionary jurisdiction.
D) are constitutional courts of last resort.
E) decide all cases after an oral hearing on the matter.

Question 28

To date, how many women have served on the bench of the Supreme Court?

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six

Question 29

A request to the Supreme Court that they review a case that was already decided is done via a(n)

A) discuss list.
B) writ of certiorari.
C) certiorari petition.
D) amicus curiae.
E) brief.

Question 30

How many federal district courts are there in the U.S. court system?

A) 13
B) 39
C) 56
D) 76
E) 94

Question 31

The attempt to ensure that governing bodies are representative of major demographic groups in proportions similar to their representation in the population at large is known as

A) descriptive representation.
B) substantive representation.
C) proportional representation.
D) symbolic representation.
E) delegate representation.

Question 32

Which of the following is/are the most significant in the selection procedure for federal circuit courts of appeals?

A) the Supreme Court
B) the president
C) the House Judiciary Committee
D) the Senate Judiciary Committee
E) the president and the Senate

Question 33

What term is used to describe a court made up of a group of judges who must evaluate a case together and decide on an outcome?

A) collegial court
B) combined court
C) conflated court
D) concurrent court
E) corporate court

Question 34

In a civil lawsuit, negligence that causes harm to another person's body or property is known as

A) a tort.
B) a statutory violation.
C) certiorari.
D) stare decisis.
E) common law.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is the most accurate regarding state law?

A) When there is a conflict between state and federal law, federal law always rules.
B) Each state government is sovereign and has the authority to make and enforce laws.
C) Citizens are only subject to the laws in the state in which they reside.
D) State laws are not subject to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 36

Who is charged with drafting pool memos, which summarize the facts, describe the legal arguments, and make a recommendation as to whether the court should take the case?

A) the chief justice
B) the associate justices
C) the Attorney General of the United States
D) Supreme Court clerks
E) the U.S. Attorney's Office in each state

Question 37

A federal court would be authorized to hear all of the following cases EXCEPT

A) a case between two states.
B) a question of law based on an interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.
C) a case between individuals who are from different states.
D) any trial to determine the facts no matter who the parties are.
E) a case in which a U.S. citizen and a foreign government are parties.

Question 38

Which of these special courts has come under increased media scrutiny due to its use since the 9/11 attacks?

A) Court of International Trade
B) U.S. Court of Military Appeals
C) U.S. Tax Court
D) FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) Court
E) U.S. Court of Veterans' Appeals

Question 39

Which factor influences senators as they appoint federal judges?

A) judicial qualifications of the candidate
B) the candidate's ideological views
C) the demographic represented by the candidate
D) opinions of constituents regarding the candidate
E) All these answers are correct.

Question 40

Which of the following share power in the selection of federal court judges?

A) the House of Representatives and the Senate
B) the House of Representatives and the president
C) the Senate and the Supreme Court
D) the Supreme Court and the House of Representatives
E) the Senate and the president

Question 41

Which phases of the Supreme Court's hearing and deliberations process offer the most opportunities for civic engagement?

A) pool memos and discuss lists
B) discuss lists and "friend of the court" briefs
C) "friend of the court" briefs and oral arguments
D) oral arguments and closed conference
E) discuss lists and closed conference

Question 42

Outline the evolution of the Supreme Court's original jurisdictional authority since the framing of the Constitution.

Question 43

Which of the following is/are given power under the Constitution to grant individual pardons?

A) the House
B) the Senate
C) the Supreme Court
D) the federal circuit courts of appeals
E) the president

Question 44

Article I of the Constitution grants ________ the right to control the Supreme Court's appellate docket.

A) Congress
B) the Senate
C) the Supreme Court
D) the Attorney General of the United States
E) the president

Question 45

Explain and discuss the role of intra-court restraint on judicial actions and decisions.

Question 46

Which of the following issues articles of impeachment for federal judges?

A) the House
B) the Senate
C) the Supreme Court
D) the Attorney General of the United States
E) the president

Question 47

Once a case is placed on the Supreme Court docket, petitioners have ________ days to file a written brief with the Court.

A) 14
B) 21
C) 30
D) 45
E) 60

Question 48

The view that judicial decision making is guided by the ideology of individual judges is known as the

A) attitudinal model.
B) legal model.
C) dissenting opinion.
D) strategic model.
E) concurring opinion.

Question 49

Which of the following conducts impeachment trials for federal judges?

A) the House
B) the Senate
C) the Supreme Court
D) the Attorney General of the United States
E) the executive through the White House counsel

Question 50

Describe the function of oral arguments in the process of the Supreme Court.

Question 51

Discuss judicial restraint, and why some judges choose to practice it.

Question 52

Define and discuss the principle of stare decisis.

Question 53

Identify the differences between concurring opinions and dissenting opinions.

Question 54

Outline the Federalist-Anti-Federalist dispute over the Supreme Court, and explain its effects.

Question 55

Define judicial activism, and provide an example of a Supreme Court decision that resulted from this stance.

Question 56

Compare and contrast original and appellate jurisdiction.

Question 57

Compare and contrast civil and criminal law.

Question 58

Which of the following best describes the ideological distribution of the Supreme Court today?

A) heavily conservative
B) slightly conservative
C) ideologically neutral, with equal numbers of conservatives and liberals
D) slightly liberal
E) heavily liberal

Question 59

For the Supreme Court to hear a case, how many of the nine justices must want to hear it?

A) four
B) five
C) six
D) seven
E) all nine

Question 60

Which of the following chief justices led a particularly activist Supreme Court?

A) Earl Warren
B) Thurgood Marshall
C) William Rehnquist
D) John Roberts
E) Warren Burger